Apple Music coming to the Amazon Echo on Dec. 17

In a huge move of taking Apple Music beyond the Apple’s own hardware, Amazon has announced that Apple Music will be coming to Echo devices just in time for Christmas. Amazon notes that Apple Music subscribers with Echo devices will be able to enjoy Apple Music’s entire song catalog, and will be able to ask Alexa to play their favourite songs, artists, albums, and playlists, and even build radio stations based on genres, or listen to Beats 1 radio. Users will simply need to enable the Apple Music skill in the Alexa app and link up with their Apple Music account. While Apple Music has been available on other platforms such as Sonos for a while now, this is the first time that Apple has opened up its music service to be commanded by a voice assistant other than its own Siri, much less a speaker ecosystem that is a direct competitor to its own HomePod.

The move is obviously a big coup for Amazon as well, and is a further sign that the two companies have mended fences and are continuing to develop a closer relationship since working out their business issues around Amazon Prime Video and the Apple TV last year. Last month, Amazon also signed a deal with Apple to begin selling iPads and iPhones exclusively from Apple and Apple Authorized Resellers.

“Music is one of the most popular features on Alexa—since we launched Alexa four years ago, customers are listening to more music in their homes than ever before,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president, Amazon Devices. “We are committed to offering great music providers to our customers and since launching the Music Skill API to developers just last month, we’ve expanded the music selection on Alexa to include even more top tier services. We’re thrilled to bring Apple Music – one of the most popular music services in the US – to Echo customers this holiday.”